ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Former Michigan football quarterback Cade McNamara called the Wolverines “that other team” in a strange interview before his Iowa team plays Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Game.
McNamara, who transferred to Iowa last offseason after losing his starting job to J.J. McCarthy, has been sidelined since the Michigan State game on Sept. 30 due to a torn ACL.
He obviously won’t be able to play Saturday against Michigan, but he plans to be very involved in the team’s preparation for the Big Ten title.
“I think this week, specifically, I’m not just getting (quarterback) Deacon (Hill) ready, I’m getting the entire team, as much as I can, because I know so much about that other team that from a defensive standpoint, from an offensive standpoint, I’m just doing everything I possibly can from an entire team standpoint to just let these guys know everything that I possibly know,” McNamara said.
In terms of helping Iowa prepare for an opponent he’s intimately familiar with, that’s exactly what McNamara should do. But he obviously went out of his way to call Michigan “that other team,” which is strange energy from a player who was once beloved by this fan base.
McNamara will always have a place in Michigan football history because in 2021, he helped the program defeat Ohio State for the first time in a decade and break a long conference championship drought.
But McCarthy won the next year’s quarterback battle fair and square, and it’s clear by now -- after back-to-back undefeated regular seasons with McCarthy under center -- that Michigan made the right choice.
It’s clear McNamara still harbors some ill will toward Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines, and maybe that will give Iowa some extra motivation on Saturday. But it could also backfire and galvanize Michigan -- just ask Ryan Day.
